Chapter Text
Gene Belcher was a weird kid by all accounts. And he was happy with that. He was loud, and messy, and creative, and always did the thing that brought the most joy into the room. He liked bright colours, and fun sounds, and gross jokes, and he liked the people who would laugh with him. Most of the time, he could be the only one laughing and still be having a good time.
All of that stuff, that quintesentially /Gene/ stuff, was normal for any kid. Kids like bright colours, and glitter, and dressing up, singing and dancing. But eventually, he stopped being so much of a kid. That didn't stop him from feeling like one, but apparently he was becoming that dreaded thing that his older sister Tina was: a teenager.
But so what? Tina and her friends liked a lot of the stuff he did too. Tina wore glitter sometimes. Like the glitter in her eyeshadow, or her favourite "party" shirt. Tina and her friends played dress up sometimes. Like when Sashmita came over and they tried on dresses for their school dance. Tina always let Gene get in on that action. Or maybe she kind of put up with him joining in? The result was the same either way. He borrowed his favourite outfit from Tina's closet, with a pair of his mom's high heels. The green dress with the twirly skirt, and the glittery heels that mom wore "back in the good old days". And every time, he'd strut his stuff, strike a few poses, and get everyone to join in with him until they were all laughing and having a great time.
So this time, a week before Tina's homecoming dance (which Gene wasn't invited to just because he "didn't even go to her school" or whatever) he got mom's heels, ignored Tina's frustrated sigh when he entered her room, and went straight to looking through her closet.
"Ugh," Tina plopped down on her bed. "Gene, don't you think you're too old for this? I'm trying to having serious, teenage girl, rom com, getting ready for the dance moments. Little brothers bugging me are /not/ a part of that." She emphasized.
"You say that now, but once we start the makeover montage, you'll be glad that I'm here." Gene neared the end of the hangers in Tina's closet. "Last time, you really appreciated my advice on contour. And girl, you, looked, fabulous."
Tina just sighed and Gene could hear her flop onto her back.
Gene got to the end of the hangers. No green dress to be found. He froze. "Um. Tina?"
"What?"
"Where's the green dress?"
"What green dress?"
Gene snapped around. "/What/ green dress? Only the best dress you ever owned! The green one with the skirt that twirls, and the flowy sleeves that make you feel like a princess!"
"Oh." Tina sat up. "Um, Gene, I donated that one when mom had us go through all our old clothes that one time. I never even wore it and it didn't fit anymore."
Gene felt the blood drain out of his face. "You what! You just got rid of it like it was /nothing/! Like it wasn't the most beautiful thing that you owned?" He yelled.
This was a betrayal. So what if she outgrew it? There were certain other people in this house that might have appreciated it as a hand-me-down! But she got rid of it like it was yesterday's trash.
"I'm sorry Gene, but its not like it was yours. I dont need to ask you before I get rid of /my own/ stuff."
"I will never forgive you for this!"
Tina sighed again. "See this is what I mean," she gestured to him. "You are too old to be making such a big deal out of dress up."
Dress up?
"Sashmita is going to be here soon, so go find something else to be dramatic about. You're 13, stop acting like such a little kid."
Those words slapped him in the face. Something sunk into his stomach like a heavy rock. He left Tina alone to do her stupid teenager, makeover stuff without him. He tipped toed through the hallway, making sure that no one else heard what Tina had said to him.
He felt weird. Not sad, but embarrassed. Ashamed, maybe? Because she was right. He had really cared about dressing up. But she made it sound like he was the weird one for caring. Like he was acting like a little kid, but she was still allowed to dress up with her friends.
Why was she allowed but he wasn't? Why did it make him feel a little sick to think about?
*******
So Tina didn’t want to hang out with him. Fine. She didnt want to hang out with Louise either. She was just being a weird girly hormone mess who thought she was too cool for her siblings. Gene had his own friends. And they were teenagers now too. If he wanted to dress up for his next school dance, then he would.
So a few months later, when there was a grade eight dance to get ready for, he invited Alex over to his house to get ready and carpool. It was a few hours early, but he was already ready to go. Gene was going all out for this one. This was a real dance, not a little kid dance that the whole school was invited to. He was mature, he was fancy, and he was ready to get dancey.
Mom got him some brand new, second-hand, dress shoes that he polished until they shined. And she had been helping him break them in all week, teaching him some dance moves in the living room. He'd found a bright red button up shirt at the back of his closet (no stains) and mom had ironed a old pair of Dad's dress pants and a blazer for him. He was looking pretty sharp, if he did say so himself.
Gene turned away from voguing in the mirror when he heard the doorbell ring.
"Gene! It's Alex!" Louise yelled from the front door.
Gene slid out into the hallway, feeling swave, one hand on the wall. "You ready to get ready? If I'm dancing my pants of tonight, I want to be the best dressed pants around."
"Ready, Freddie!" Alex chimed back. Alex was always down to clown. No matter what, Gene always knew they could be goof balls together.
They went back to Gene's room where he had everything set up. Jewlery layed out on his desk, mostly rings he'd won from gum ball machines or found at the dollar general. Alternative shirt options layed out on the bed, in case either of them changed their minds at the last minute. Dad's cologn that he'd borrowed, definitly without asking, and mom's good hairspray. Even some make up that he'd collected over the years, ready inside his dresser just in case. And of course, getting-ready-music playing in full swing on his i-pod.
"Wow." Alex said. "You really did go all out." He didnt sound judgemental, just surprised.
"Since when do I ever not go all out?" Gene said.
"True enough, good buddy. True enough." Alex nodded.
Alex didn't exactly seem to have come prepared, so it was good that Gene was ready enough for the both of them. Alex's hair could definitely use some TLC, and he was drastically under-accesserised.
Gene told him as much too, and got right to helping him find a fancier hair style. They settled on slicked back, even though the mohawk was a very close contender.
"So what kind of accessories were you thinking of?"
"Accessories?" Alex asked, checking out his cool new hair do in the mirror.
"I was going to wear these three rings," he held them out, "plus this plastic spider one from Halloween, obviously. But if you want to borrow any of them, just say so. I'm down to change up plans."
Alex looked over the various necklaces and things that were layed out. "You're really taking this seriously. I was just going to put on the shirt my mom makes me wear to my grandparents and call it a night."
Gene tried on a different combination of rings, checking them out against the light. "Of course I am. This is our first big dance. I wanted to do it like they do in the movies." Gene continued to sway his hips to the beat of the pop music.
Alex kept looking around, but not trying anything on. "I guess," He said. "This is like, what girls do in those kinda movies. I don't think this is really a guy thing."
There is was again. That feeling like shame and dread. Like being caught doing something wrong and embarrassing.
"Oh." Gene stopped dancing immediately. He put his hand down, and put down the rings he was holding. "I thought, it was just like a fun thing. Getting ready with your friends when you're dressing up before a big dance." He noticed that his voice had turned sheepish, and he felt awkward.
"But don't get me wrong!" Alex could sense the awkwardness too. "This is fun! This is really cool. I just mean its like not /uaually/ a thing guys do. But you're doing it, and you're cool. Its cool."
Okay. Okay. Alex doesn't think he's doing anything wrong.
God, when did he get to nervous about what other people thought?
"Okay." Gene tried to shrug it off. "You dont have to wear anything you dont want to. This is just what I wanted to do." Simple. No way to read any further into anything. Alex still thinks he's cool, and Gene doesn't care too much about this. Very casual, very normal.
Alex shrugged. "I dont think I'm a jewlery guy. You can rock it though." Alex excused himself to go to the bathroom.
Gene went to take in his completed look in the mirror. He put his hands on his hips. He stuck one leg out. The other leg. He spun around, checked out his look from the back. He looked good. He looked... fine.
He took the blazer off, rolled up his sleeves, undid a button. He undid a second button. A third button? No, too much. Blazer back on. Hm. He scrutinized everything he was wearing from head to toe. Did he need a hat? Is that what's missing? No.
Something felt wrong. He looked fine. He knew he looked fine. But he didn't feel fancy. He was supposed to look in the mirror after trying on all the options and gasp at how fantastic he looked. But he didn't feel fantastic.
"Looking good my Genie beanie!" His mom was standing in the doorway, beaming. This is what he needed! A little hyping up.
He put his hands back on his hips and gave her a sassy spin. "Looking alive and I'm ready to jive!" He announced.
"Oh my handsome little guy, all dressed up for his big night out. You look so swave! So debonair! You're gonna charm the pants off of that dance." Linda pinched his cheeks. "So handsome."
"You think so?" Gene looked back down at his outfit.
"Of course! You're the most handsomest boy there ever was!"
Gene rolled his eyes. As much as he loved to agree with his mom, he did have to admit that she could be a little biased. Sure, he was amazing and charming and lovable, but she could exaggerate sometimes.
"And you look so grown up. Oh we have to show your father before you leave! And take pictures!"
Gene turned back to the mirror.
"You're so tall now!"
Not really. He was still one of the shortest boys in his class.
"And those shoulders! You're looking like such a little man."
Were his shoulders broader now?
"So handsome." His mom sounded like she was tearing up a little bit.
Gene didn't know what made him ask this next thing. "Mom?" he asked before he had time to think too much more. "Do you think I look pretty?"
"Of course, Genie. All my babies are beautiful."
Thats not what he meant. And he knew what had felt disappointing about his outfit now.
"Gene!" Alex was back. "Its 7 o'clock! If we want to tear up the dance floor for the full 2 hours, we need to hit the road!"
His mom said something behind him about getting the camera, and ran off.
"Gene!" Alex called again. "Are you coming?"
"Ya. Let's go."